Recent Outstanding Hunt Reports

Published: December - 2003

One of the most outstanding hunting reports I received this fall came from Vancouver Island outfitter Dave Fyfe of North Island Guide Outfitters. He just started his own company this year, but he is no stranger to outfitting and guiding. I've known Fyfe for more than 15 years, and he started guiding long before that! As part of his credentials, he was the manager for Zarco for many years, leading their operation of very successful elk and bear hunts on Vancouver Island. I gave an overview of Fyfe's company last spring, with a special emphasis on his bear hunts. He has just completed his Roosevelt elk hunts, and I now have those results.

Once again, he proved why hunting elk on Vancouver Island is so special. Admittedly, it is expensive, but when an outfitter produces B & C quality bulls for all his clients, it is worth the cost to many trophy hunters. The elk permits are very limited on the island, and as I recall, Fyfe has the most permits of any of the outfitters who hunt there. This fall, he only hosted five hunters. The biggest bull tagged by one of his clients was a 9 x 8 bull that scored 396 under the SCI system. That should qualify it as a top-10 candidate after the 60-day drying period. It also green-scored over 377 points under the B & C system, but you don't have to have a tape measure to admire this bull. He is simply gigantic! Fyfe sent me the photos, and they are amazing.

His other hunters also killed bulls that should all beat the B & C minimums after the drying period. His smallest bull green-scored 302-4/8, despite a broken brow point, and his second largest bull, another 7 x 6, scored 337 points. When I talked to Fyfe, he was elated with the results, but said this was one of the most difficult years he has ever faced while guiding - a record drought, followed by record high temperatures during September, later compounded by record rainfall in October. Despite all that, he had........(continued)